Can't wait for the T-Mobile G1? Play with a virtual one

0

So you’ve pre-ordered your G1, and now you don’t know what to do with yourself? You could install the Android SDK and get to know the platform itself a bit better – but you’d have to tape a little paper G1 cutout around the emulator window to really give it that special feel. Cell Phone Signal found a better different solution. It’s not a fully functional demonstration by any stretch of the imagination, but T-Mobile has thrown together a browser-based G1 emulator and put it online for the sake of antsy tinkerers everywhere.

I’m all for giving people a taste of a product before its release, but I’m not quite sure why T-Mobile thought releasing this was a good idea. A good chunk of the screens warn that “This screen is not fully functional”, while others lack the notice yet still don’t work properly. There was at least a time or two where it wouldn’t respond to input, requiring me to lock/unlock the device. For anybody still on the fence as to whether or not the G1 is for them, would a limited and somewhat busted emulation really sway their minds in a positive way? If anything, I imagine it’d scare them away.

Check it out for yourself here. Make sure you click that “Emulator” link, otherwise you’ll just be spinning around a 3d model.